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Wednesday, 13 January 2016

Book Review: Apple and Rain by Sarah Crossan

When Apple's mother returns after eleven years away, Apple feels whole again. But just like the stormy Christmas Eve when she left, her mother's homecoming is bittersweet. It's only when Apple meets someone more lost than she is that she begins to see things as they really are.

A story about sad endings.A story about happy beginnings.A story to make you realise who is special.

Sarah Crossan is an author I know quite
well, I've read her Breathe series and I even met her once but Apple
and Rain is the first contemporary book of hers that I have read. I
don't really know what I was expecting from this, the description
sounded painful and I got the impression that this book would be a
hard read. The two books in the Breathe series were not much help in
determining what to expect from Apple and Rain. They are dystopia
books full of rich world building, they could not be more different
than Apple and Rain. In the end Apple and Rain turned out to be
nothing like I expected and I found it quite different from other
books I have read. It was realistic, touching and took me by
surprise with its intelligence.

The writing in Apple and Rain is great,
the main character Apple is quite young, only 13, and Crossan managed
to find her voice with little effort. There was nothing over the top
about this book, no dramatics, no heavy descriptions. Instead it
focused on the emotions of a child as she went through some difficult
times.

The storyline itself was heart
breaking, I really felt for both Apple and Rain. This is a book
about family and friendship, it is a coming of age story about
sisters who are both lost. Mostly I think this is a book about
growing up and how painful that process can be. I loved what Crossan
did with the poetry theme that ran through the book, how Apple was
inspired by a good teacher and a growing love of literature. I feel
like a lot of thought was put into this book, it was lean and
emotional without ever going to far.

The characters were good, they were all
layered and full of personality. I didn't love nor hate any of them.
I am not sure if that was the author's intention but I felt like it
worked well. All of the characters are very real, they all have good
and bad things about them. Each one at some point annoyed me and
endeared themselves to me. Every character plays their part but it
is the relationship between Apple and Rain that had all the impact in
this book. This was a beautiful relationship full of ups and downs
between very lost sisters. Crossan treated every aspect of not only
this relationship but all the other issues in the book with utmost
respect.

Although I didn't fall in love with
this book, (to be honest it is not my kind of thing) I would still
recommend it to young adult and adult readers. Sarah Crossan
seriously impressed me with this novel and I look forward to reading
more from her in the future.